1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact structure, an apparatus having the contact structure and an image input apparatus having the contact structure. The contact structure can electrically contact to a predetermined connection object stably using a bypassing conductive member with less contact resistance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Apparatuses that are driven by means of a battery are generally known. In particular, such devices include digital cameras, film cameras, compact disk players, radios, wireless remote control transmitters and various communication instruments. These apparatuses have a battery housing arranged to detachably house a battery. The battery housing has a contact terminal member configured to stably hold the battery by facing the electrode of the battery that is housed, and has a resilient contact terminal member configured to urge the battery into the contact terminal member. Therefore, the battery housing can stably supply electricity having substantially the same voltage as the original voltage stably to various units that are included in the apparatus as demanded.
Also, several apparatuses of above-mentioned apparatuses may be powered by electricity supplied from an AC adapter, by means of mounting an AC adapter that is the same shape as the shape of the battery and can supply electricity having the same voltage as the battery supplies.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-305624, the following camera battery housing device is described. Namely, this camera battery housing device is provided with a plurality of battery loading parts, a short bar, a displacement spring and an urging spring. The plurality of battery loading parts is fixed side by side in a battery magazine arranged so as to be housed in a battery housing. The short bar connects between a positive electrode and a negative electrode to be connected with of a pair of adjacent batteries to be loaded into the battery loading parts with their polarities alternately reversed. The displacement spring displaces the short bar so that the short bar is abutted to a battery support surface of the battery loading parts. The urging spring urges the short bar to the positive and negative electrodes of the pair of the batteries against the displacement force of the displacement spring when the battery magazine is housed within the battery housing.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-82450, the following dry battery electrode is described. This dry battery electrode holder is provided with a positive electrode part consisting of a moving plate which is vertically movable along a slit, a coil spring for urging the moving plate toward a positive electrode of a first dry cell, and a lead wire. The lower face of the moving plate is provided with a ring insulator, in which a hole is formed at the center where a protruded portion defining the positive electrode of the dry cell enters. At the bottom of the hole, a positive electrode contact piece is formed for contacting the positive electrode. When the dry cell is housed properly in a first cell chamber, said protruded portion enters into the hole in the ring insulator and contacts the positive electrode contact piece at the bottom of the hole, and then the positive electrode of the dry cell is connected to a circuit via the lead wire.
In other words, the above-mentioned two documents describe a coil spring for generating a spring pressure and a contact terminal member for reducing internal resistance. When the coil is employed, one side of a coil spring 201, as shown on FIG. 6, is fixed on a lateral face of one end side of the battery housing 200, and the battery 202 is urged by the other end side of the coil spring 201 toward the other end side of the battery housing 200. Also, an end portion on one side of a coil spring 201 is connected to a lead wire 204 by solder 203.
However, the structures described in these documents cannot stably supply electricity having substantially the same voltage as the original voltage of the connection object, such as the battery and the AC adapter, so that stable contact pressure cannot be held and cannot reduce contact resistance. Namely, there is a problem that extremely lower voltage than original voltage supplied by the battery is supplied since a length from the contact location between the battery 202 and the contact terminal member to a one of a lead wire extracting location and a soldering location connected with printed circuit board is long, due to the use of the spring as a part of the electric circuit. Also, there is another problem in that the use of a contact structure including both of the spring and a contact terminal member that can reduce internal resistance is more expensive.